Jiri plays his choker
CZECH TAKES HOLD OF TRICKY BOUT
THE light-heavyweight champion has been the bedrock on which the UFC has built so much of its success upon.
Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are hall of famers who paved the way at 205lbs and drew in vast numbers of new fans to MMA, before Jon Jones’ two reigns took the division to new heights.
Jiri Prochazka now has the chance to create his own lasting legacy at light-heavyweight after snatching the title from the grasp of Glover Teixeira.
After 24 minutes and 32 seconds of action in Singapore at UFC 275, Prochazka clamped in a rear-naked choke and forced the Brazilian to tap out, just as the judges were about to have the final say, with Teixeira ahead on two of the three scorecards after four rounds.
Prochazka said: “Man, I thought about, ‘It is not so funny, you have to end it,’ because I felt that the fight wasn’t in my hands. I like to keep it in my hands, to keep it in my will, and I didn’t feel that.
“So I said to myself, ‘Ok, let’s do something, let’s do whatever’ – and the choke came.
“Like I said before the fight, I was ready to end it by knockout, by punches, by submission, by whatever. In a hard moment I will do whatever it takes to win.
“It is about evolving your style, your skills from your body, from your mind, from your spirit to make the weapon.”
The Czech star claimed the crown in just his third fight in the UFC, although he is unbeaten in the cage since 2015.
Muay Thai-influenced Prochazka, whose unorthodox striking style and significant reach could prove a hard puzzle to solve, added: “I knew I would be the champion before the fight, but I never imagined that the fight would be so tough – and that Glover would be such a tough opponent.
“He showed amazing performance, he showed why he was the champion.
“I don’t think it was my best performance because I didn’t feel in the best shape before the fight. But you still have to show your best in every area so I have to work on that.”
The new champion’s first defence is likely to be an Eastern European derby against Pole Jan Blachowicz, who lost the title to Teixeira last October.